The day started with a lot of nerves for the Broady boys knowing they were going into a semi final against a Marple side that already had beaten the Broady boys. However after winning the toss and Zac deciding he was going to take the game in his own hands with a rapid fire 50 the boys believed that it could be there day. Once Zac had finished dispatching his first set of bowlers for the day in came Charlie King who had the same idea with yet another quick fifty which helped the lads finish on a healthy score of 156. However, despite the first innings favouring Broadys chances of reaching their first ever under 19s final, the Broadbottom opening bowlers didn’t disappoint with everyone bowling the perfect line and length it was just a shame that the fielders decided they didn’t fancy hurting their hands. Lucky for them the dropped chances didn’t effect the end result with Broady winning comfortably in the end, setting up a intense and lively final against another team that Broady had failed to beat early on in the season - Dinting.

After losing the toss and knowing they had already lost to this Dinting side a few weeks before, there were definitely nerves between the boys. However these nerves didn’t effect any of the opening bowlers, must’ve been due to the pre match team talk from what felt like the whole Broady 1st XI team! Early wickets falling with one each for Zac and Charlie, and very economical bowling from Harry and Jack set a very strong start for Broadbottom. However after a few loose balls and good shots Dinting found themselves crawling closer to a competitive score and with the Dinting captain Alfie Joy getting his 50, his Dinting side managed to reach 128 off their 100 balls.

With what felt like an eternity of an innings break, skipper Sam and his reliable opening partner Zac were confident in the never ending batting that followed them and after a slow couple of overs to start the runs started to flow which ended up with Sam getting out on 20, this must have triggered Zac who showed no mercy or nerves and flying to his 50, leaving his team 50 to win off the last 40 balls and from there after a couple of big sixes from Jack the chances of Broady winning looked more and more possible. However disaster struck for Broady losing Charlie, Jack and Harry (our Hyde boys) within just a couple of overs Broady found themselves needing 20 from the last 15 balls with only 2 wickets in hand. However with the two calm and collected minds of Will Davis and Theo in the middle there was still immense belief between the boys. And after a couple of fielding mistakes from Dinting and a perfect full toss for Will to dispatch for 6 the chances of winning became stronger and stronger. The game dragged right down to the wire with only a few balls left, a lovely slip drive from Theo queued the pitch invasion and a very deserved win for Broady.

The day was filled with drama, great performances and brilliant sets of supporters from all teams however the home team edged it on the home soil, which was even more special due to the intense and loud atmosphere.

I would like to thank everyone who volunteered it was a great day which showcased the standard of the league perfectly and I would like to thank my wonderful team for their support and commitment this year and giving me my first junior trophy on my last junior game?
Love you boys x
Sam xxx
(Sam Eaton U19's Captain)